| |
|
The
first time a saw the Easter Monkeys was at the Polish Library
Home in Tremont (Which I believe was their second show) with
The Clocks and Dr. Bloodmoney. Chris' pants fell down while
he was singing and then later he fell asleep on stage leaning
against one of the amps. They had to wake him up to play guitar
on "My Baby Digs Graves." I was very impressed. I
never missed a Monkeys show for the next three years.
(Scott Stemple)
[See
the flyer from the show] |
|
|
I
had already known Jim Jones from the record store where he managed
and met Chris Yarmock through him. When I found out they had
a new group and ready to play out I was excited and even more
enthused that I could help out in some way w/ their inaugural
debut. Downtown Cleveland trips for me usually included various
record stores, Moser's and a trip to the copy shop where they
had the only color copier in town (One that could produce Iron
on Transfers!). Jones thought it would be great for the Easter
Monkeys to wear some shirts emblazoned with an image of the
Shroud of Turin since it was Holy Saturday and handed me a National
Geographic magazine page to take to the copy shop to get some
transfers done. I made enough for their band and a couple for
myself and a friend so we could proudly wear them to the gig.
Well it was Holy Saturday and I was only 16 and as soon as my
parents saw me going out w/ a shirt on w/ not only the Shroud
and an Easter Monkeys logo but also my own addition of "Join
the Shroud Crowd" painted in Holy Blood Red, I was immediately
grounded, Exorcised and prayed over! Never did get to see the
show! Blasphemy! Sacrilege! But saw plenty of other shows afterwards.
One of those shows being at Tucky's, an old downtown rehabbed
Disco Palace that a weird old man took over and booked bands
to play there. The place was complete with a lit dance floor
ballroom upstairs and a downstairs bar complete w/ swings as
barstools. Put together Punks, Alcohol and swings for barstools
you got a lot of trouble or maybe just bruised ribs, knees and
shins. The downstairs bar also had some old stripper stage not
deep enough to accommodate a band. The drummer would have to
set up there or over to the side and then everyone else would
sort of stand side by side, chorus-line style to play. Everyone
always seemed to be at odds w/ old man Tucky. Lack of promised
money, canceling shows, reneging on promises, etc. But it seemed
like the biggest clashes were between him and The Easter Monkeys.
At the end of one of their shows (come to think of it it might
have been the end of Tucky's itself) the Monkeys left the stage
w/ their instruments leaned against their amps making the loudest
feedback noise I've ever heard. Just that image of Old man Tucky
covering his ears and screaming at the Easter Monkeys is forever
burned in my memory.
(Paul Slava) |
 back
to top |
I
never got to hear the Easter Monkeys play, but I knew Linda
Hudson, the drummer of the group some years later in Cookeville,
Tennessee, where she was working in radio and local theater.
She told me how the Monkeys got their name. Forgive me for not
remembering the finer points of the story, but one day they
were all sitting around trying to come up with a name for the
band. One of them laid eyes on a stuffed toy monkey that someone's
girlfriend had bought them for Easter. "How about 'The Easter
Monkeys'... and the name stuck."
(Scotty Matthews, Syracuse, NY) |
| back
to top |
Keith
Richards once said: "The greatest Rock-N-Roll band in the world
is a different band every night." Over a period of two years
the Easter Monkeys claimed that title at least a couple dozen
times. I saw every show the Monkeys did from '81-'83. Every
time, I used to think to myself: "they can't possibly be as
good as the were last time." Then they would slowly fade into
"Take Another Pill" and you were in their trance. One thing
that always stood out to me was how loud they were. Not loud
in a shrill way, but so loud you couldn?t talk to anyone (including
the bartender)"in fact it was hard to concentrate on anything
other than the band. Linda and Charlie's low frequency throbbing
dirge rattled the walls and your soul loose. Jim's swirling
sonic thrashes at his Strat, pulled you in and then pushed you
back out. In the middle of it all, the horror of Chris' sax
screamed in between his satirical/social outbursts about the
city and world we lived in. "Nailed To The Cross" freed me from
my Catholic upbringing, with a smirk on my face. "Camera Fo"
reminded me of a time when late night TV really stood for something.
"Heaven 357" made me realize that someday it all just might
end. I watched as they blew the Gun Club and X back to LA! I
watched as Mr. Chris fell from the stage (sax in hand) onto
an empty dance floor! I watched as Jim Jones redefined how the
electric guitar could be played! I watched in total delight!
Then one day it was all over! With only a slab of wax and a
few home made tapes to remind of that sonic explosion on the
Rock-N-Roll timeline that was called the Easter Monkeys.
(Scott Stemple) |
| back
to top |
|
